Description

A wide variety of interesting components were used to create this 3D printed satellite antenna model. With a WiFi enabled microcontroller, GPS receiver, magnetometer (compass), and two stepper motors, this unit is capable of tracking celestial objects in real-time.

The main body of the satellite antenna is completely self contained and can be lifted from the base without needing to detach wires or clips. The base section uses an inductive charging set to wirelessly transfer power to the main body components. This enables continuous rotation on the horizontal azimuth track, but also introduces a challenge faced by many space robots: The inductive charging set will not deliver enough power to continuously run the motors and other modules, so we’ll need to selectively power off modules and charge a battery until we have enough energy to perform a particular operation.